BILL ANALYSIS
ACR 138
Page 1
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
ACR 138 (Nava)
As Amended July 15, 2010
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |52-23|(June 2, 2010) |SENATE: |24-11|(August 23, |
| | | | | |2010) |
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Original Committee Reference: HIGHER ED.
SUMMARY : States legislative intent that part-time and temporary
faculty receive comparable benefits and pay to that of full-time
faculty, and that the California Community Colleges (CCC)
increase the number of full-time tenured and tenure-track
faculty. Specifically, this resolution :
1)Makes various statements regarding, among other things, the
increasing reliance on part-time faculty at public colleges,
the importance of improved faculty working conditions, and the
negative effect of Proposition 13 on revenues that support
public education.
2)Resolves that the longstanding policy of the CCC Board of
Governors (BOG) that at least 75% of the hours of credit
instruction in the CCC be taught by full-time instructors
should be advanced and that each CCC district should develop
and adopt plans to meet the 75% goals.
3)Resolves that each CCC district establish a process for
part-time and non-tenure track employees to receive
preferential notice of teaching assignments and preferential
consideration for attaining full-time tenure-track positions
after a probationary period.
4)Resolves that the implementation of all of the aforementioned
goals should be subject to a collective bargaining process
that includes the representatives of full-time and part-time
faculty serving at the institution.
5)Provides that the provisions of this resolution are intended
by the Legislature to the extent that funding is provided to
CCC districts to achieve these goals.
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The Senate amendments make technical changes and add coauthors.
EXISTING LAW requires the CCC BOG to adopt regulations regarding
the percent of credit instruction that shall be taught by
full-time faculty, and authorizes CCC districts with less than
75% full-time instructors to apply a portion of their
"program-improvement" funds toward reaching a 75% goal.
However, the state has since stopped providing
program-improvement funds, and the CCC BOG has since required
CCC districts to provide a portion of their growth funds to
hiring more full-time faculty.
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this resolution was substantially
similar to the version approved by the Senate.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, costs are not direct, as a resolution does not have
the force of law. However, the costs of meeting this measure's
intent are substantial, particularly during a difficult fiscal
environment.
COMMENTS : Background: For over 20 years, the Legislature has
considered various efforts to address the issue of CCC districts
hiring temporary (part-time) faculty members in lieu of
full-time faculty. Much of the reason to utilize temporary
faculty is the lower costs associated with such faculty. While
the issue remains a major area of debate, many believe students
are under-served by a lack of permanent faculty, who are more
accessible and may have more teaching expertise in core
curriculum. Additionally, there are numerous equity concerns
surrounding temporary faculty. Several studies on CCC temporary
faculty found that CCC districts pay temporary faculty
significantly less than full-time faculty performing the same
duties, and nearly half of temporary faculty reported not
receiving any type of benefits from their CCC district. In
2008, 18,200 members of CCC teaching faculty were full-time
(tenure or tenure track) and 45,257 classified as temporary.
Purpose of this resolution: According to the sponsor, the
California Federation of Teachers, part-time faculty are
compensated at significantly lower wages and benefits than
full-time faculty and too often lack basic supports such as paid
office hours. The sponsor believes that pay and benefit
increases for part-time faculty and ensuring that these faculty
members have a process to become full-time faculty will allow
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the CCC to better serve its student population.
Analysis Prepared by : Laura Metune / HIGHER ED. / (916)
319-3960
FN: 0006098